ZIMBABWE:SOUTH AFRICAN president Thabo Mbeki arrived in Harare yesterday to meet his Zimbabwean counterpart, President Robert Mugabe, in a bid to break the deadlock following the country's disputed presidential election, writes Bill Corcoran.
Last week the state-appointed Zimbabwe Electoral Commission released the official result of the poll which showed neither candidate had won the 50 per cent plus one vote needed to avoid a second round head-to-head.
However, the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has maintained it will not take part in the contest because it believes leader Morgan Tsvangirai won the poll outright. "Our official position still remains the same, that we are not participating," MDC secretary general Tendai Biti said yesterday.
Mr Mugabe has indicated that he will participate in a second round, but a date has yet to be set by the commission.
Aside from claims of outright victory, the MDC also says the wave of state-sponsored violence sweeping the country has made a fair contest impossible, with 30 of its supporters murdered by militias loyal to the ruling regime since the March 29th election.
The MDC's position was strengthened during the week following a visit from a South African observer mission, which was sent to assess the recent wave of violence by Mr Mbeki, who has been appointed by regional leaders to mediate between the two groups. It reported back that a second round run-off would be impossible in the current environment.
"We have seen it [the violence]; there are people in hospital who said they have been tortured. You cannot have the next round taking place in this atmosphere; it will not be helpful," head of the mission, Kingsley Mamabolo, said on Thursday.
The mission's verdict was delivered shortly before Zimbabwe's main farmers' union said that about 40,000 of the country's farm workers had fled their homes because of violence inflicted by youth militia and war veterans.
"Since the elections we have recorded a total of 40,000 people who have been displaced," said Gertrude Hambira, general secretary of the General Agriculture and Plantation Workers' Union of Zimbabwe.
"They have been accused of voting for the opposition. Most of them are either on the roadside or sheltering at some farms."
UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon has expressed alarm at the violence, saying there could be no free election in such a climate.